The Emory Voice Center and Emory Decatur Hospital hosted a free seminar on vocal health for local teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and others who spend countless hours using their voices to teach and instruct. The special seminar was held on April 16 to signify World Voice Day — a day to remind everyone to “be kind with your voice.”

“Teachers undergo intense vocal demands, often with little rest during a seven- or eight- hour day, five days a week,” says Adam Klein, MD, director of the Emory Voice Center and professor of otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine. “The goal of this seminar was to teach teachers how to better care for their voices, while also learning how to recognize changes or warning signs within the voice that may need the attention of a medical professional.”

During the seminar at Emory Decatur Hospital, participants learned vocal exercise techniques, the importance of hydration and why microphones and other types of amplification are crucial in the classroom setting. They also had the opportunity to view videos of vocal folds with polyps and other voice injuries and learn how they are treated.

Amanda Gillespie

“Vocal problems are one of the top reasons teachers leave the profession to look for jobs less strenuous on the voice,” says Amanda Gillespie, PhD, director of speech language pathology at the Emory Voice Center and assistant professor of otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine. “Our multi-disciplinary approach when seeing patients, such as teachers, is to treat the patient as a team and get them back to their normal-sounding voice as soon as possible.”

Patients at the Emory Voice Center, located at Emory University Hospital Midtown, are seen by a laryngologist (a specialist in voice problems and treatment) and a speech language pathologist at the same time to define the problem and determine a treatment plan. Voice therapy often follows treatment or is used in place of treatment.

Besides teachers, the Emory Voice Center sees a wide variety of people with voice disorders and voice problems, including but not limited to: singers, actors, salespeople, speakers/presenters, telephone operators, those going through gender transition, those who have swallowing disorders and more.

The Emory Voice Center has opened a new office at Emory Decatur Hospital and is seeing patients for voice therapy on Fridays. To schedule an appointment, call 404-501-5140.

For more information on the Emory Voice Center, please visit the Emory Healthcare web site.